You do have to admit that they've got a lot of firepower. Gilbert, Antawn, and Caron is a pretty fearsome three-headed-monster that can light it up against a lot of teams out there. But their complete inability to stop anyone is still going to prevent them from getting any farther than the 2nd round of the playoffs, at the best.

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I agree. I find it much easier to admit the Wiz are ok than to say anything positive about the Redskins..............

I didn't even hear them talking about the Wiz after Gilbert went for 60 in L.A. Admittedly, I only listen to DC talk radio while I'm driving home, so maybe they got to it during other parts of their broadcasts, but I didn't hear any of it.

A couple of other interesting results from last night: Bobcats beat Utah in Charlotte, and though they're only 7-18 now, the Bobcats seem to have a knack for beating division-leading/contending opponents. They've beaten Cleveland, San Antonio, the Pistons, New Jersey, Orlando, and now Utah...that's six out of their seven wins total! It's like a super-extreme version of the Pistons playing well in big games, but taking nights off and losing against scrubs.

Houston had lost 17 straight at San Antonio going into last night; their last win at SA was when they still had Hakeem, Clyde, and Barkley! But the Rockets dominated in San Antonio last night, 97-78.

Nash fouls Ben Gordon on a jump shot with 5 odd seconds left, Gordon hits both to put the Bulls up two.

Leandro Barbosa comes down and hits a 3 pointer to take a one point lead with less than 2 seconds left.

1.5 to go. 97-96 PHX

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Saw that game too and it appeared that Gordon's 41 points were enough to pull out this game for Da Bulls. Obviously they saw the Pistons-Suns tapes and held Nash in check scoring wise. He did dish out 13 assists, but only two 3 point attempts and 11 pts compared to the 35 he put up vs Flip jr & co. Still when he was in there, the Suns played more undercontrol and he put them in position to win the game. Wonder if CB took MVP notes?? Unfortunately he is not fast as Nash or can see the court like him.

By the way, the Bulls announcers were praying that Big Ben would make at least one of his FT's as he was at the line in the last minute and he missed both. Bulls had a 16 point lead at one time, but they have an excuse>>their starting point guard Heinrich was out too..

Saw this article today, Mike Monroe, SA E-N, and thought it was interesting that there is a place out there where a player can go to get physical, spiritual and mental health when he is having problems. The article spoke specifically about Francis and Penny Hardaway. Excerpt:

How does a former NBA All-Star know his career is in its last gasp? He presents himself to former Spurs coach John Lucas to help him rehabilitate body, mind and spirit.

Knicks guard Steve Francis is the latest to report to Lucas at Houston's West Side Tennis Club, where he will begin this week trying to get his legs stronger, his shot on track and his spirit renewed.
It is his spirit that most needs mending now, every bit as much as his knees.
"You know I always can do that," Lucas said, punctuating the assertion with his raspy laugh.
"I think Stevie was actually beginning to play better," Lucas added. "A lot of this physical rehab should have been taken care of in the summer. Now we're paying the consequences, but we've got to get it taken care of."

Francis has been a bad fit in New York since the Magic traded him last February for talented young guard Trevor Ariza and Penny Hardaway's expiring contract, a deal that ranks somewhere near the top of the long list of horrid trades Knicks general manager Isiah Thomas has made.
Francis has missed 12 games this season but has played a bigger role recently after post-brawl suspensions left the Knicks short of players. Mostly, this season has been a wipe-out for the former All-Star. That the Knicks would allow him to leave the team during a road trip to work out with Lucas, instead of with the team's trainers and coaches, speaks volumes. It could be a pre-cursor to buying Francis out of his contract, though the Knicks already bought out Jalen Rose's contract a little more than a month ago.

"That's the million dollar question," Lucas said. "Are they going to buy him out? They've got so much money and problems up there, you just have to wait and see. But, hey, if they bought out Larry Brown like that, they'll buy out anybody."

Lucas has worked wonders with athletes battling demons worse than aching knees and flagging spirits. He has helped many overcome substance-abuse problems, while simultaneously getting their games in shape.

I'm glad there is someone out there that has the ability to help a guy who is struggling. It seems Lucas is the last resort, the guys have just stopped listening to their team leaders. Maybe it is a matter of trust.

Breaking news from Miami: Pat Riley announced leave of absence. Seems he is going to have knee and hip surgeries, feels this is good time to take it. Yeah, right. Speculation he has been depressed about team losses. Hey, its a natural letdown after winning a ship and then not showing up for follow up. What do you guys think?

From Riley:
"I'm just tired of the pain and the medication," said Riley, who said there is no timetable for when he would like to return.
But he insisted he plans to be back with the defending champions.
"I'm going to be displaced for a while, but not disconnected at all," Riley said.
And top assistant Ron Rothstein will fill his spot on an interim basis.
link: Heat coach Riley takes leave of absence - Yahoo! News

Even if the Heat stay at this horrible pace they'll make the playoffs. The East is absolutely horrible. Pistons should be dominating them. I know that they might not be pumped up for these games, but stick your foor on their throat.

Watched the Heat / Suns game this morning. Chris Quinn got twelve minutes, about two thirds in garbage time after Jason Williams got tossed. He was picked up by the Heat as an undrafted free agent after four years at Notre Dame. Point guard.

Nice looking kid. Takes the ball hard to the hoop, decent defender, but seemed to have (as much as a few minutes will tell you) a nice feel for the game. Threw some nice passes, included a couple to set up a pass to set up a shot, a pass to get a better passing angle into the post.

He could play some serious minutes at the point for Miami in a year or two.